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Pete Gautchier

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

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101 Stories

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Going, Going and Really Getting Nowhere

Weekly Contest #286

Prompt: Write a story about someone who must fit their entire life in a single suitcase. Going, Going, and Really Getting Nowhere I entered the lobby of the hotel to hear the melody of John Denver’s song, Leaving on a Jet Plane. I improvised the lyrics with my words “My bag is packed and I’m ready to go; leaving on a jet plane with certainly no place to go. There’s no one to wake, so no goodbyes. It is dark as can be in the predawn morn. My taxi driver obnoxiously blows the car horn. I am so depressed I look like the...

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The Bygone Days of a Cassette Music Machine (aka "Walkman")

Weekly Contest #285

Prompt: Write a Story from the Point of View of a Now-Defunct Piece of Technology The Bygone Days of a Cassette Music Machine (aka “Walkman”) No longer do I hear the cries of revelers yelling “Party tape! Party tape! Grab the party tape.” I used to be in such great demand as an instrument offering musical bliss at party after party. My owner would take me everywhere: to the park, to the beach, to school, even to the bathroom while showering. It used to be that everybody whether young or old, had one carryin...

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Henny Penny, Alive and Well?

Weekly Contest #285

Prompt: Write a Story about People Preparing for Y2K. Henny Penny, Alive and Well? My head was tilted up to the sky as I eagerly anticipated the ball drop in Times Square. The weather was typically mild for this December. I felt a mist upon my face as I continued gazing up to the heavens. Perhaps like so many others in the crowd, this was my first time to watch the spectacle of a large man-made six-foot ball of glass crystals plummet over 70 feet on a pole nearly 400 feet above my head. The frenzied crowd counted down the time...

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Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole

Weekly Contest #284

Prompt: Write a story that includes the line “I should have known better.”Down the Proverbial Rabbit HoleI consider myself to be a passionate person reveling in the opportunities to express my inner self. Right away one may think I am a painter, or a sculptor, or a musician. Frankly, it is none of those because my paintings look like stick figures made by preschoolers. Certainly not a sculptor because my objects end up as masses of clay as though they were formed by a ninety-five-year old with arthritic hands. And by...

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Where's My Baby Jesus?

Weekly Contest #284

Prompt: Center the story around a character spending their first holiday alone.Where’s My Baby Jesus?The rain was pouring down like a waterfall as I peered outside the window of my rickety bamboo hut. No one would guess this was a few days before Christmas. Being in the tropics had its advantages, but this time of year I was at a loss to find any. There were no decorations inside my spacious tropical villa. Nor were there any in the tiny, remote village I was stationed at in the Fijian Islands. My first year of ...

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A Gift Like No Other

Weekly Contest #284

Prompt: Write about someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.A Gift Like No Other I never thought an actual person would be considered a gift. But that is what God does. His gifts are seen and unseen. If I had to guess, more of His gifts come from real people and less from receiving physical objects. In my life one such person became my gift to me. The unique thing about this gift is it unfolded into a true love story where she became my heroine.  Her name was Karen.  We w...

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A Party of Surprises!

Weekly Contest #281

Prompt: Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party-but no one knows who they are. A Party of Surprises! Wow! The Christmas party was in full swing! It was only 7:00 pm and I did not think our house could fit so many people. My task, since I was still under drinking age, was to act as watchman of the front door entry way. I also collected any car keys to avoid impaired driving and serious liability issues. I felt assured there would be no problems because everyone seemed totally absorbed in festive egg nog drinking, bois...

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Into the Deep Freeze

Weekly Contest #281

Prompt: Set your story during the coldest day of the year. Into the Deep Freeze Unquestionably, this was the coldest day I had ever experienced. I was literally chilled down to my bones.  I could not feel my hands nor my feet. Other nerves in my body, however, were actively feeling the frigid air. The cold pierced my face as though I was a pin cushion. I morphed into a human iceberg. What made matters worse, I was surrounded in darkness. Pitch black darkness. I quickly understood the meaning of th...

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Listen to My Voice

Weekly Contest #280

Prompt: Write a story that includes someone (or something) saying, “No don’t.”Listen to My Voice I was standing on the edge of the cliff when I whispered to myself “Go ahead jump. No one cares.” Then from out of nowhere I heard a voice shouting, “No don’t.”  I was shocked to hear a disembodied voice call out here in the middle of the wilderness. Why would anyone really care? My life has been a hodgepodge of shambled affairs. Why would it really matter if I jumped? My life has been filled with my own insecurities...

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Penetrating Words

Weekly Contest #280

Prompt: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!) Penetrating WordsHere me out Violet. You live in my house; I expect you to live by my rules. Mother, stop trying to ruin my life. Just because you had an overbearing mother doesn’t mean you have to be that way with me. I need to be my own person. You can do that Violet by learning to be responsible by respecting my authority.  I set a curfew to protect you, not to stifle your lifestyle...

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A Blinding Light at the End of My Nightmare

Weekly Contest #279

Prompt: Write a story about someone confronting their worst nightmare. A Blinding Light at the End of My Nightmare“Eddie, it’s bedtime,” momma would shout at me shaking me out of my intense focus as I stared at the television set.  She would add, “I don’t know why I let you watch those shows. You only end up peeing in your bed because of your nightmares.”  Feeling embarrassed in front of my older sister, I would respond in self-defense, “You would get the heebie jeebies from Alfred Hitchcock too!  Momma, he...

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Lost in Love, Drowning in My Tears

Weekly Contest #279

Prompt: Write a story about a character who is lost. Second Prompt: Follow a character who is looking for someone or something Lost in Love, Drowning in My Tears There was a warm feeling running across my face.  When I opened my eyes, I was temporarily blinded by the sunlight poking through the tattered curtains draped across my window.  When I gained some sort of consciousness, I could not recall who or where I was. I lifted myself off the cot I had been on, fumbling across the room to the mirror that hung on...

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Gobble, Gobble Hullabaloo

Weekly Contest #278

Prompt: A family argument gets out of hand. Neither side will budge, requiring a mediator with unusual methods.Gobble, Gobble HullabalooThanksgiving has always been a special time for our extended family year after year. Both sides of the family are invited. Uncle Ralph, Aunt Clara, Uncle Joey, Aunt Betsy, and cousin Ralphie from my dad’s side would come. From my mom’s side Uncle Bert, Aunt Dotty, and Pauly would grace us with their presence. Unfortunately, my grandparents on both sides of the family were no longer with u...

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Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Weekly Contest #277

Prompt: Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story. Lost That Lovin’ Feeling People who have seen me say that wherever I walk dark clouds vanish. In their place I leave rainbows and flowers. My name is Melody.  I have one purpose. That one mission is to bring joy, peace, and love to the dark and dreary places I am assigned to visit. Usually my assignments are straightforward leaving me quite full of elation and satisfaction. But there was one town that over the years ...

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Confined Spaces

Weekly Contest #274

Prompt: Center your story around a childhood fear that-as much as you try to shake it-still resonates into adulthood.Confined Spaces“Help me! I can’t breathe! I never said I would do this! Tommy, get me out of here,” as I whimpered a cry. My panicky state resulted in an episode of hyperventilated breathing. The more I struggled in the confined space, the more anxious I became. I could barely muster a punch on the side of the cardboard wall.  Then, the tears began to flow as I felt abandoned and le...

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